


Handmaidens are Better than Knights, Anyway

by bideanie



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, M/M, Nerd Dean, Punk Castiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2015-03-04
Packaged: 2018-03-16 09:14:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3482711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bideanie/pseuds/bideanie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>shamelessly inspired by <a href="pls-share-with-us-some-punk-cas-headcanons-thnx">startrekdean's punk!cas headcanons</a> </p><p>In which Castiel Novak is the school's biggest, baddest punk, with piercings and sleeves of tattoos and a bad attitude, and Dean is his polar opposite; sweet, nerdy, chubby Dean who loves Star Trek and junk food. But you know what they say about opposites, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Handmaidens are Better than Knights, Anyway

**Author's Note:**

  * For [toriosaurus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/toriosaurus/gifts).



Dean’s footsteps echoed as he walked along the barren linoleum hallway, the faded blue lockers daunting on either side of him as if they’d close in on him any second. There were crumpled posters dotting the ground, advertising a school dance, or something.

As Dean made his way to his first period English class, which he was late for as usual, he could hear the sound of shouting coming from somewhere. Dean, ever the curious one, followed the sound and realised the shouting was coming from the office. Dean approached with trepidation, rounding the corner until he was faced with the image of the principal shouting at a student. Or, rather, the student was shouting at the principal. Dean realised the student was Castiel Novak, which he probably should have guessed sooner because he was the only student in the whole school that would have the balls to shout at the principal like that.

“It’s not my fucking fault if Mr Walker is an idiot.” Castiel snarled, his eyes alight with fury as he stared down the principal; who actually looked to be a little scared. “He should have checked his seat before he sat down.” 

The principal sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Yes, because we all check our chairs to see if there’s a _frog_ there before we sit down.”

Castiel chuckled, running a hand through his messy dark hair, the motion bringing attention to the midnight blue streak at the front. Coupled with the worn leather jacket and a ripped t-shirt, Castiel looked as though he’d been up all night at some sort of biker bar. “Look, Dick. Did you call me in here to nag me about the frog prank or the fact I beat up the star quarterback?”

The principal smiled tightly. “Castiel, I could write a list of possible things I could have called you in for. Smoking on school grounds, coming to school drunk and possibly high, numerous counts of violence and graffiti, silly pranks, dress code violations in the form of tattoos and piercings… need I go on?”

The student, Castiel, grinned. “Please do. It’s good for my self-esteem and my badass persona.” 

“Mr Novak, I’m going to have to suspend you.” The principal sighed. “This has gone too far this time.”

“ _What?_ ” Castiel scoffed. “You don’t have to carry on if you don’t want to. I was just joking you, Dick!”

“That’s Mr Roman to you, and you know that’s not what I was talking about,” The principal gestured to the direction of the exit. “Now, if you’ll please-”

“You’re kidding! I know you’re only doing this because I broke poor Victor’s nose. Who gives a rat’s ass? You wouldn’t give a _damn_ if he wasn’t on the football team.” Castiel said with narrowed eyes. “I don’t think it would be a good idea,” Castiel took an intimidating step forward towards the principal. “If you suspended me, Dick.”

The principal blinked, looking worried, before stepping back slightly only to bump into the desk behind him. “Castiel- I, you-”

“You aren’t going to make me call Chuck, are you? He’s so busy with work, and all…”

“No!” The principal blurted quickly. “No, that won’t be necessary. It seems that I was being harsh with my punishment before.”

“How amenable, Dick.” Castiel winked at the principal. 

“…But I’m giving you detention for the next four weeks.”

“ _What?_ No fucking way!” Castiel roared, clenching his fists. Dean noticed his left wrist was full of leather bracelets, and he had a spiked ring on his right hand that had a questionable stain on the tip.

“Mr Novak, please go back to class, before I call security-”

“Fuck you, Dick.” Castiel snarled before storming a few feet away and punching the wall in frustration. It left a dent behind, the paint chipping and dusting the ground. “Fucking detention.” Castiel grumbled as he went to walk away, but ended up walking into Dean, causing him to stumble backwards.

 Castiel blinked and stepped backwards, before grinning at Dean wolfishly, as if Dean were little red riding hood and Cas wanted him for dinner, but there was an underlying softness there, too. “My, my, Winchester. Didn’t peg you as an eavesdropper.”

“Uh, I wasn’t-.” Dean gaped, unsure of what to say. Castiel’s grin grew even larger.

“I don’t mind.” Castiel assured him in a sly tone, before brushing a finger across Dean’s chest. “Well, Winchester?” Castiel wiggled his eyebrows.

“Uh, what?” Dean replied, his eyes fixed on Castiel’s blue ones. His mouth suddenly felt too dry.

“Are you going to move out of my way in the foreseeable future?” Castiel asked, taking a step closer until their chests were almost brushing against each other. Due to the thick-soled boots Cas was wearing, he was taller than Dean. “Not that I don’t like this arrangement.” He grinned, eyes trailing down Dean’s body, making him blush. Dean could see a patch of Castiel’s tan skin through the tear in his shirt, and he tried to stop his eyes from venturing lower to scan Castiel’s skinny jean clad legs or god forbid, his crotch.

“Uh, sorry.” Dean mumbled, stepping to the side so Castiel could walk past him. Dean cursed internally. When had he turned into such a dork? Where were his snarky comebacks when he needed them, goddamnit?

Castiel smirked at Dean in lieu of a reply, before turning away and striding down the corridor, as if he owned the place. Dean jumped slightly as Castiel’s fist reached out and hit one of the lockers, causing it to pop open, but Castiel didn’t react whatsoever.

“Mr Winchester?” The principal called from somewhere behind Dean. “Is there a reason you’re standing outside of my office staring at Mr Novak?”

Dean shrugged as his eyes followed Castiel’s retreating form down the hallway.

“I would recommend you to stay away from that, Mr Winchester. That one has a crack in his chassis, if I do say so myself.” Mr Roman said with a strained voice. “If I were you, I’d stick to your nice group of friends and forget about him.”

Dean ignored the warning completely.

 

∞ 

 

At lunch time, Dean sat at his usual table with Charlie and Jo.

“Dean, I don’t know why you ever broke up with Lisa Braeden,” Charlie sighed wistfully, her eyes fixed on the table where the cheerleaders, including Lisa, sat. “She’s drea- _my_.”

“I dunno,” Dean said around a mouthful of fries. “Just didn’t work out.”

Jo quickly changed the subject to talking about sci-fi movies, not wanting to hear Charlie gush about how hot Lisa Braeden was. She’d heard enough of that when Dean was dating her.

“I think we should have a star trek night, guys.” Dean suggested. “In homage to Leonard Nimoy, y’know.”

Charlie’s eyes widened in excitement. “You are so right! How about tomorrow?”

Dean nodded and took a bite from his cheeseburger.

“I wouldn’t eat that if I were you,” A voice suddenly snorted from behind him. “You wouldn’t want to get a chubby stomach, or y’know, a _chubbier_ one.”

Dean’s cheeks flamed as he dropped the burger back onto his tray.

“Fuck off, Alistair.” Dean muttered, not turning around. He didn’t want to provoke him into starting a fight.

“Fuck off, Alistair!” Alistair mocked in a high-pitched voice, and Dean heard the sound of laughter coming from somewhere, making his chest feel tight. “God, you’re so pathetic, Winchester. Not even going to turn around?”

Dean ignored him.

“Leave us alone.” Jo spat, throwing a fry at him.

“What did you say, bitch?” Alistair growled. “You’re lucky I don’t hit girls, Harvelle. Unlucky for Winchester, though, because now I’m _pissed_ and he’s the closest thing to a punching bag I have.”

Dean stiffened.

“Oh, look, guys! The little fag is scared!”

“It’s interesting that you choose to call him a fag, Alistair,”  A new voice said suddenly, “When you’re not exactly a model heterosexual yourself.”

“Fuck off, Novak.” Alistair spat bitterly. “Mind your own business.”

Dean’s eyes widened, and he turned around to see it was in fact Castiel Novak that had come between Dean and Alistair.

“Stop being so melodramatic,” Cas snorted, rolling his eyes. “Leave him alone before I make you, Masters.”

Alistair narrowed his eyes at Cas, before turning around and going back to his usual table, his lackeys trailing behind him.

“Wow, how d’you get him to listen to you like that?” Jo asked, impressed.

“I caught him getting his dick sucked at Chastity Peterson’s birthday party.” Castiel smirked, his eyes landing on Dean. “You’re welcome, sweetheart.”

Before Dean could reply, Castiel was storming away.

∞ 

Dean tapped his fingers absentmindedly on his desk as he listened to Mrs Rosen read a chapter from the Great Gatsby. It was her favourite chapter; and she read it out loud to her class at least once a week. She claimed it was the chapter that you could see that Nick and Gatsby were in love with each other for the first time.

Out of the corner of his eye, Dean could see Charlie leaning forward in her seat to tap Jo on the shoulder, who was sitting on the seat in front of her.  Jo turned around, knowing that Mrs Rosen wouldn’t notice either way.

“What?” Jo asked, looking at Charlie from beneath her thick eyelashes.

“You’re still coming over to watch movies tonight, right?” Charlie replied with a big grin. Jo nodded, and the grin grew impossibly larger. Dean stifled a snort- his friends were so obvious. How did they not notice that they were harbouring giant ass crushes on each other?

“Dean, you’re still coming, right?” Charlie turned to him, eyebrows raised, as if she was goading her to accept the offer.

Dean pursed his lips, thinking. On one hand, he did want to hang out with his best friends, but on the other, he would be the third wheel. Usually, Benny would be there to hang out with them, too, but he was in Louisiana on vacation.

Charlie seemed to read his mind, however, as her eyes moved slowly between Dean and Jo, a blush rising to her cheeks. “I, I could invite a couple more people, too.”

Dean shrugged in a _yeah, why not?_ fashion and accepted the offer. Maybe Charlie would invite the cute guy that was in the LARPing club with them, Dean hoped.

 “Mr Winchester, are you listening?” Their teacher asked, frowning at Dean from beneath her wire frame glasses.

Dean shifted uncomfortably in his seat, supressing an eye roll, but didn’t answer. He knew if he let himself reply, he’d say something that would get him sent to the principal’s office.

“Good.” Mrs Rosen smiled, holding up the book. “You don’t want to miss this part!” She said, returning to her reading.

“God forbid.” Dean muttered under his breath, and went back to blocking out the high-pitched voice of his teacher. Instead, Dean pulled out the comic book that was hidden in the back of his notebook, discreetly placed it where he knew Mrs Rosen wouldn’t see, and began to read. Dean sensed Charlie shuffling her desk closer to his, reading the comic book over his shoulder.

They were just getting into the good part, both in the novel and the comic book, when the green-painted door of the classroom banged open; revealing Castiel Novak.

Mrs Rosen, who was sat on the edge of her desk, looked towards the door with a bored expression on her face, annoyed at the interruption.

“Yes?” Mrs Rosen huffed, her eyebrows raised. “Can I help you?”

“I’m in this class.” Castiel said in an amused voice. “But if you don’t want me here, I’m sure I could find something better do.”

Mrs Rosen blinked, unsure of whether to believe him or not. “Yes, whatever, don’t be late next time. Go and sit down somewhere. You’re just in time to hear how much Nick loves Gatsby!” Mrs Rosen said, waving her book in Castiel’s face.

“Lucky me,” Castiel deadpanned. “God forbid I miss that.”

Dean gulped as he realised there was only two empty seats in the class. One was in the front, opposite Mrs Rosen’s desk, and the other was in front of him.

Castiel strode over to the seat in front of Dean and slid into the desk, a bored look on his face, as Mrs Rosen once again continued her enthusiastic reading.

Next to Dean, Charlie was ripping pieces of paper from her notebook, and rolling them up into small balls. Dean watched her with a raised eyebrow, wondering what she was going to do with them. He found out a few seconds later, when Charlie picked one up and sent it flying towards Castiel’s head. Three more followed before Jo even reacted.

“Bradbury, I swear to god-” Castiel warned, but there was no malice to his tone.

Dean frowned in confusion. Since when was Charlie friendly with Castiel Novak?

“I nearly had a heart attack when you came in,” Charlie smirked, throwing a couple more paper balls towards him.  “I can’t believe you actually showed up to class!”

“Neither can I.” Castiel replied wryly, before turning around to face the front of the class once again. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and began to doodle on his arm, creating intricate patterns across the skin where his leather jacket didn’t cover it.

Dean sent Charlie a confused look, mouthing how do you know Castiel Novak?

Charlie grabbed her notebook and scribbled dated his sister on one of the pages. Charlie suddenly got a dreamy look in her eye, before it was filled with determination.

“Hey, Cas!” Charlie suddenly called out, as loudly as she could without Mrs Rosen hearing. “How’s Hannah doing, anyhow?”

Castiel turned slightly. “Fine. She’s enjoying her new school.” He replied. Hannah, who was Castiel’s twin sister, had switched to the visual arts school across town, while Castiel had stayed at the public high school.

Charlie smiled, and Dean knew there was a plan hatching in her mind as she got the mischievous look on her face. She looked at Dean quickly, before turning back to Cas. “You and Hannah should come over to my house tonight,” Charlie said. “We’re gonna have a movie night.”

Castiel frowned, unsure of why Charlie was inviting him over. Sure, he’d been friendly with her the few times she’d come over to his house which was unusual for him, but that didn’t mean they were best friends, or anything.

Or did it? Castiel wasn’t sure. He’d never had a best friend before, so he had no frame of reference to compare it to.

Charlie sensed Castiel’s hesitation. “C’mon, it’ll be fun!” She exclaimed. “Besides, I promised Dean I would invite other people so he wouldn’t be stuck with just me and Joey. You’d be doing me a huge favour.”

Dean’s cheeks burned as Castiel turned around and gave him an amused look.

Great, Dean thought, he probably thinks I’m some loser who can’t get his own friends.

Castiel rolled his tongue piercing between his teeth absentmindedly as he tried to decide whether he should go or not. He barely even knew Charlie or Dean or Jo, so wouldn’t it be awkward if he went over to hang out with them?

Then again, was he really going to pass up the offer to hang out with Dean Winchester? Freckled, Star Trek loving, sparkling eyed, junk food loving Dean Winchester?

Okay, Cas may have a slight thing for Dean Winchester, he had to admit, but the guy was still a massive nerd, no matter how cute.

“Okay,” Cas replied finally. “I’ll come.”

Dean couldn’t stop a big smile from breaking out on his face. He told himself it was because having Cas come over would give Dean a chance to thank him for what he did yesterday, but Dean was secretly excited to see Castiel outside of school. Dean wanted to see if Cas was still a badass punk outside of school or if it was just a persona he put on.

“Great!” Charlie squealed. “Why don’t you and Hannah come over at eight? She knows where I live.”

Cas agreed, and he suddenly realised it would be the first time he’d ever been to someone else’s house that wasn’t a family member.

It was a nice feeling.

∞ 

At eight o’clock, Dean, Charlie and Jo were settled in Charlie’s living room, eating pizza. Charlie and Jo were squeezed onto the large armchair together, claiming it was so Castiel and Hannah could sit on the couch with Dean, but it was obvious that that wasn’t the real reason.

Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang and Charlie got up to answer it, and Dean felt his palms sweat slightly at the thought of spending time with Castiel, for some reason.

“Hello, Dean.” Cas said, crossing the room and boldly throwing himself down on the couch beside Dean, sitting much closer than he needed to; not that Dean was complaining. Castiel was wearing the same clothes he’d worn to school, except he’d substituted the ripped t-shirt for a faded band t-shirt. Dean recognised it as one of those Christian rock bands.

The words sent a shiver up Dean’s spine, for some reason. There was a weird sort of force or power behind the words, or maybe that was just Cas and his whisky-and-gravel voice.

Dean clutched the piece of pizza he held in his hand tighter, before smiling at Cas, hoping he didn’t look as nervous as he felt. “Hey, Cas.” Dean scrambled for something to ask Cas. “Uh, did you finish your essay for English class?”

Cas frowned slightly, but he looked amused at Dean’s question. “Do you really think I would have even started, yet alone finished, a homework I only received today?”

Dean blushed slightly, dropping his head downwards. “No, I guess not.” He replied. “You’re lucky you barely even have to do any work and you still get an A in the class.”

Cas smirked slightly. “How do you know I have an A in that class?”

“I, uh-” Dean swallowed.

Cas placed a finger beneath Dean’s chin and raised his head so their faces were level. “Relax, Dean.” Cas breathed. “I’m not going to eat you.”

Dean nodded, feeling slightly less flustered than before. He suddenly noticed the tattoo that was peeking out from beneath the sleeve of Cas’ leather jacket as Cas dropped his hand from Dean’s face.

“That’s a cool tattoo.” Dean said. “Where did you get it?”

Cas looked down at his wrist, where the black cross was inked. It was the first tattoo he’d ever gotten, and even though it was simple, it was one of his favourites. “My friend Balthazar did it for me. I wouldn’t recommend that, though. It was pretty infected for a while.”

“Oh,” Dean replied, resisting the urge to trace a finger across it. “Have you got any others?”

“Of course.” Cas answered. “All over my body, in fact. I might show them to you, sometime.” He said in a suggestive tone, making Dean blush furiously.

Before Dean answered, he was cut off by Charlie and Hannah coming into the room and sitting down in their designated places, and Charlie switched on the first movie.

“What are we watching?” Hannah asked as she settled onto the couch on the other side of Cas.

“Star Trek.” Charlie replied. “’Cause, y’know, the guy that played Spock just died, so we thought it’d be cool to watch them in his honour.”

Hannah nodded, but she looked slightly confused.

“Have you not seen Star Trek?” Dean asked with wide eyes, and both Hannah and Castiel looked away sheepishly. “You haven’t either, Cas?”

Hannah and Cas shook their heads.

“What about Star Wars? Indiana Jones?” More head shakes.

Dean let out a whistle. “Wow.”

“Ignore Dean,” Jo told them, “He’s got this crazy movie elitism thing, but what he won’t tell you is that his favourite movie is actually Porky’s two.” She grinned.

“Jo!” Dean protested, throwing a cushion at her. “Shut _up_.”

“Dean, how about you shut up so we can actually _watch the movie_?” Charlie exclaimed, before pressing play and turning the volume up high.

“Please tell me you’ve at least watched Batman.” Dean whispered to Cas, who shifted closer to Dean to be able to hear him, making their shoulders brush together.

Cas nodded. “Yes, though I preferred Superman.” He replied thoughtfully.

Dean almost had a heart attack.

“You did _not_ just say that.” Dean whispered, horrified. “I don’t think we can be friends anymore.”

Cas’ chest suddenly felt warm at Dean’s words. _Dean sees me as a friend,_ Cas realised with a start.

“Superman was hotter, though.” Cas argued. “I mean, he could _fly_. What did batman do? _Nothing._ He was just rich.”

Dean considered Cas’ argument for a moment before shrugging. “Superman was hot, I gotta admit that, but you can’t say he’s better than Batman. I mean, Batman would totally kick his ass in a fight.”

“If you two loose women over there have finished whispering, can you shut up?” Charlie suddenly complained. “Or go finish your conversation somewhere else.”

Even though Dean would have gladly taken Cas to Charlie’s room to finish the conversation, but he didn’t chance offering, in case Cas didn’t want to. Instead, he settled into the couch and made himself concentrate on the movie instead of the warmth that was coming from Cas’ side, which was pressed against his.

At the end of the first movie, Charlie quickly got up to put the next one in, but apart from that, no one else moved. Especially not Dean and Cas, who had moved during the movie so that Cas’ arm was now across Dean’s shoulder, and Dean’s head was resting on Cas’ chest.

By the time the second movie ended, they were all asleep, and Charlie’s mom came in to cover them all with blankets.

∞ 

Even though both Dean and Cas woke up the next morning with aching necks and slivers of slight embarrassment in their stomachs at the fact they’d been cuddling, they both had to admit it was the best night’s sleep they’d had in a long time.

Dean, noticing that he and Cas were the first to awake, grabbed Cas arm and dragged him into the kitchen, blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

After making coffee for themselves, they stood near the kitchen counter, clasping the hot mugs in their hands. Cas hadn’t spoken, yet, and had a grumpy look on his face that reminded Dean of a kitten that had just been woken up, especially now that Cas’ eyeliner had worn off.

Dean was the first to break the silence, once they’d finished their coffees and Cas was looking slightly more awake.

“Maybe I could show you Star Wars sometime, y’know, they’re doing a marathon at the cinema next week, we could go.” Dean offered. “I mean, if you want-”

Cas’ smirk suddenly turned into a small grin. “Dean Winchester,” He practically purred. “Are you asking me on a date?”

Dean blushed furiously as he reached up to rub the back of his neck nervously. “Ah, fuck- pretend I didn’t say anything, I’m sorry, uh-”

“Dean.” Cas said sternly, putting his empty coffee mug on the counter next to him and stepping closer to Dean. “I’m not saying no.”

Dean blinked, eyes wide. “You- you’re not?”

“Definitely not.” Cas assured, before grabbing Dean’s mug from his hands and placing it on the counter next to his. “All though, maybe a fourteen hour movie marathon is pretty heavy for a first date. Maybe we could start with something smaller?”

Dean thought for a moment. “You could, uh, come over to my house, maybe? I have pretty good video games.”

Cas chuckled affectionately, leaning in to press a spontaneous kiss to Dean’s cheek. “You’re such an adorable nerd. I’d love to come play video games with you, Dean.”

Dean tried to get his heart to beat at its normal pace, but after the kiss it was near impossible; and it had only been a cheek kiss. What was he going to be like once they started making out? “Um, okay. When?”

“Would tomorrow be too soon?” Cas asked, slightly sheepishly.

Dean grinned, his heart feeling like it was going to burst from his chest. “Nah, Cas. It’s not too soon.”

“Okay, then.” Cas replied. “How about a kiss? Would it be too soon for that?”

Dean couldn’t reply, instead he shook his head.

Cas grinned wolfishly, before leaning down and pressing a chaste kiss to Dean’s lips, the opposite to how Dean had envisioned Cas would kiss.

“If you want to kiss anymore you have to admit that Superman is superior to Batman.” Cas teased, pulling away only slightly from Dean’s lips.

Dean ignored him, instead grabbing the back of Cas’ neck and pulling him down for a forceful kiss. They didn’t break apart until Charlie and Jo came into the kitchen five minutes later, shouting at them to get a room.

∞ 

At first, people didn’t understand Cas and Dean’s relationship. In fact, several times, Dean had gone out into the hallway and ended up overhearing conversations about him and Cas.

“I just don’t understand,” One girl said to her friend. “I mean, it’s Castiel Novak. He hates everyone, but he suddenly has a soft spot for Dean Winchester?”

“I know, right!” Her friend had answered. “They’re cute and everything, but it’s pretty baffling. Cas is all punk, with his bad attitude and stuff, but Dean is the complete opposite. And it’s just so weird to see Castiel Novak actually being _nice_ to someone!”

The girls had disappeared down the hall, leaving Dean smiling. He didn’t care if other people didn’t understand it, as long as he and Cas were both happy, he didn’t give a flying fuck. Although, sometimes Dean had to admit, it baffled him, too. There was just a huge difference between how Cas acted in front of people and how he acted around Dean. 

Dean suddenly felt himself being pressed into a locker, and for a fleeting moment he was worried it was Alistair, but when he felt the lips against his neck he realised it was Cas.

“Hello, Dean.” Cas growled, nipping the freckled skin beneath Dean’s jaw, before pulling away. “Shall we go to the LARP club meeting? We don't want to be late.”

Dean blinked in shock. “ _You’re_ coming to LARP club?”                                    

Cas grinned lazily, wrapping his arms around Dean’s stomach, which was probably still peppered with hickeys from the night before. “Why wouldn’t I? I get to see my boyfriend all dressed up and fighting and being a big, manly, knight.” Cas said, before pressing a kiss to Dean’s lips, not noticing the way Dean’s cheeks turned pink.

And when they got to LARP club, and Cas realised that Dean was actually a handmaiden and not a knight, Cas just kissed him harder.


End file.
